These teams have the nation’s longest bowl droughts heading into 2023

Since Kansas snapped its 13-year bowl drought last season, a pair of Sun Belt teams and an independent enter the 2023 college football season with the nation’s longest stretch without making bowl plans.

It has been a tough 10 years for Louisiana-Monroe, Texas State and UMass. At least the Warhawks and Bobcats have, respectively, a .500 and winning season during the time period in question. That is not the case with the Minutemen, who have not been able to get off the deck since elevating to the Football Bowl Subdivision.

With the aforementioned three teams in the lead, here is look at the nation’s current longest bowl droughts.

Louisiana-Monroe: 10 Years

Todd Berry took ULM to the 2012 Independence Bowl, a 45-14 loss to Ohio. That is the lone bowl appearance for a program that elevated to the FBS in 1994. The Warhawks went 6-6 and were bowl eligible in 2013 and 2018, but were passed over both times.

Terry Bowden took over the program in 2021 and has produced a pair of 4-8 seasons. In his first year, ULM was 4-3 before losing its final five games. Last season, the Warhawks needed to win their final two games to become bowl eligible, and lost both.

Snapping the bowl drought in 2023 will be a chore especially if ULM needs a couple of wins down the stretch. The final three games are against Troy, which should be in the mix for a conference title once again, at Ole Miss and at rival Louisiana. In addition to the late-season game against the Rebels, the non-conference schedule also includes a visit from Army and a trip to Texas A&M.

Texas State: 10 Years

The Bobcats transitioned to the FBS in 2012 and have yet to experience the bowl season. They were bowl eligible in 2013 (6-6) and 2014 (7-5) and failed to receive an invitation both years. Texas State has since gone 23-73 with 4-8 marks in 2021 and 2022 the best showings.

G.J. Kinne takes over for Jake Spavital and brings a high-flying offensive philosophy from Incarnate Word. In his lone season as coach of the FCS program, the Cardinals’ led the nation (all NCAA levels) in averaging 52 points per game. Kinne has SEC transfer quarterbacks Malik Hornsby (Arkansas) and T.J. Finley (Auburn, LSU) to work with in San Marcos.

Texas State will be tested out of the chute with games at Baylor and UTSA.

UMass: 10 Years

The Minutemen appeared in a pair of bowl games, though before Division-I split into I-A (FBS) and I-AA (FCS) in 1978. UMass elevated to the FBS in 2012 and became a full-fledged member of the subdivision and eligible for postseason play in 2013. Initially a member of the MAC before becoming an independent in 2016, the Minutemen are 21-103 as an FBS program. That mark includes going 3-37 the last four seasons. Dating to its final season as an FCS member in 2011, UMass has endured 12 straight losing seasons.

Massachusetts native Don Brown, who enjoyed much success as an assistant and head coach at UMass when the program was a member of the FCS, took over the program last season and went 1-11. A much-improved defense could be even better this season, though the key is finding some offense after the Minutemen averaged 12.5 points to finish last in the FBS a season ago.

UNLV: 9 Years

Not only do the Rebels take a nine-year bowl drought into 2023, but they have been to only two bowl games in the last 28 seasons. It appeared the drought might end last season when they won four of their first five games, However, UNLV lost six straight before winning the season finale against Nevada to finish 5-7. Marcus Arroyo lost his job after three seasons in Vegas, though he recruited well.

Former Missouri coach Barry Odom, most recently the defensive coordinator at Arkansas, takes over the Rebels. He has a veteran quarterback in Jacob Brumfield and a solid cast on both sides of the ball. Hence, it should not surprise if the Rebels make their way to the bowl season for the first time since the 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl.

New Mexico: 6 Years

In six seasons since going 9-4 in 2016, a year that concluded by staying home for a New Mexico Bowl win over UTSA, the Lobos have not won more than three games. A 15-52 run under Bob Davie and Danny Gonzalez the past six years has put this program near the bottom of the FBS.

Gonzalez, who returned to his alma mater, is all of 7-24 in three years and likely will not be back in 2024 unless a turnaround is evident this season. While the defense noticeably improved under Rocky Long’s direction the last two years, the Lobos scored as many as 20 points only three times in 22 games against FBS opponents. There is hope as OC Bryant Vincent arrived from UAB and brought a veteran quarterback with him in the person of Dylan Hopkins. The defense, though, lost Long and a number of key contributors.

After opening at Texas A&M, the non-conference slate becomes very manageable as does the early portion of the conference schedule. So, there is a chance to at least build some momentum.

Akron: 5 Years

Joe Moorehead took over a difficult situation last year as the Zips had won only three of their previous 35 games. While the final tally was 2-10 in 2022, there was noticeable improvement. After getting blown out by a combined 115-6 at the hands of Michigan State and Tennessee, six of Akorn’s seven MAC losses were by single digits. The combination of many returning starters, a sprinkle of transfers and another spring and preseason under Moorehead could turn a few of those close losses into wins. The Zips have not won more than one conference game since 2018.

The non-conference slate includes trips to Kentucky and Indiana and the two first two conference tilts, against Buffalo and Northern Illinois, are at home.

Arizona: 5 Years

The Wildcats opened 2022 by winning three of their first five games. That was notable given they had lost 23 of 24 heading into the season. An upset of then-No. 9 UCLA put the UA at 4-6 and opened the door for a shot at bowl eligibility. Alas, a loss to Washington State the following week took care of that. A season-ending win over Arizona State completed a 5-7 campaign.

If Jedd Fisch is to continue the turnaround and get his team into the bowl season, it will likely have to pull off a couple of upsets during a very appealing, but difficult home conference schedule that features Washington, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah.

A 2017 Foster Farms Bowl loss to Purdue in Rich Rodriguez’s final season in Tucson serves as the Wildcats’ most recent postseason appearance. It concluded a 10-year stretch in which they went to eight bowl games.

Colorado State: 5 Years

The Rams had a nice five-season run (2013-17) of winning records and bowl appearances. They have not won more than four games in a season since. The problem during a 3-9 showing in 2022, Jay Norvell’s first year in Fort Collins, was an inept offense that averaged 13.2 points and not once scored as many as 20 points. Thanks to a strong defense, the Rams could have won five games, which would have been quite a chore given the offense’s shortcomings.

Most of the Rams’ likely tougher MWC games – Boise State, Air Force, San Diego State – are at home. So, Norvell’s team will likely have to pick up a few road wins in order to flirt with bowl eligibility. That could happen if the offense does something, because the defense should be solid again.